The immune systems of patients with HIV infection were found to be characterized by a unique form of activation that effects different parts of the immune system in different ways. The activation fo helper (CD4+) T cells was driven by the loss of these cells as well as the levels of HIV while the activation of cytotoxic (CD8) T cells was only driven by the levels of HIV. Imaging of the helper (CD4) T cell pool of rhesus monkeys infected with the HIV-like virus SIV demonstrated that Many of the circulating types of HIV in the West African country of Mali were found to be comprised of recombinant viruses. Blood levels fothe the inflammatory marker interleukin-6 and the coagulation marker D-dimer were found to be strong predictors of mortality in patients with HIV infection.